University of Great Falls head volleyball coach Arunas Duda called Friday night’s loss to Montana Western “heartbreaking.”

Up two sets to none against the Lady Bulldogs, the Lady Argos faded away in five.

In a similar situation Saturday afternoon at the McLaughlin Center, in the locker room holding a 2-0 cushion, UGF players made sure everyone understood that Friday night wasn’t acceptable.

That’s not us, they told each other. It’s not UGF volleyball and it’s certainly not the way the season is going to unfold, they said.

“The best part is I didn’t have to tell them anything,” Duda said. “They knew. We’ve got some good leaders on this team, and they spoke up in the locker room. They were the ones that decided it wasn’t going to happen again.”

The Lady Argos cruised in that third set, a 25-19 decision clinched by a well-placed tip from sophomore Maya Kiruluta, en route to a sweep of visiting and defending league champion Rocky Mountain College, taking the first two by identical finals of 26-24.

“(Friday) night kind of beat down on our morale a little bit,” senior Madison Wilhelm said, “and so coming back, coming back that much stronger, was really important for us and really important for team vibes.”

UGF improved to 7-8 overall and 1-1 in the Frontier Conference. RMC fell to 4-12 and 0-2.

While the Lady Argos succumbed to the pressure Friday night, they rose up to it on Saturday.

Trailing 24-22 in the first set, Duda’s squad responded with the final four points. Senior Tiffany Marks swatted back an RMC attempt, and Wilhelm followed with a powerful, set-clinching kill, which reached 18 by the end of the day.

“Madison’s hitting percentage was unreal,” Duda said. “She did a really nice job, but I want to give credit to our passers. Overall we passed extremely well. Kennedy Chadwick, Tymerie Vincelli, Madison Wilhelm passed extremely well. Even Emily Stoker, one of our freshman, from Belt. It helps when you can be in system on every ball and you have options to set.”

Meantime, the Lady Argos found themselves in another 24-22 hole in the second, as former Billings Skyview standout Hailey Copinga started to make an impact for RMC. Copinga, the former state champion in track for the Falcons, had 25 assists and four kills.

Minutes before, Duda called timeout after his team surrendered three consecutive points and fell behind 21-20.

Slow down, Duda told them.

“After (Friday) night, I just wanted them to take a deep breath and just realize this is a good volleyball squad,” the head coach said. “Just realize they have the ability to do it, they just have to make sure that they’re calm and focused and have confidence in themselves.”

They countered with the final four points of the set, capped by some slick execution and teamwork. Senior Bree Davis put it on a platter for Marks, and Marks put her team up 2-0 in the match.

“This team has a lot of grit and a lot of relentlessness and that’s something that we’ve been practicing a lot on,” Wilhelm said. “Being put in situations where we are down and coming back and fighting. All of our drills contribute to that. I think the hard work that we are putting in, day in and day out, is helping out.”